Over There

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This article is about the song. For 2005 television series, see Over There (TV series).
1917 sheet music cover with Nora Bayes
1917 sheet music cover with Nora Bayes

"Over There" is a 1917 song popular with United States soldiers in both world wars. It was written by George M. Cohan during World War I. Notable early recordings include versions by Nora Bayes, Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray, and Charles King.

According to Michael Duffy of FirstWorldWar.com, "Cohan later recalled that the words and music to the song came to him while travelling by train from New Rochelle to New York shortly after the U.S. had declared war against Germany in April 1917."[1]

This song, as well as "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", were popular patriotic songs during the First World War. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt awarded Cohan the Congressional Gold Medal for this and other songs.

Film appearances include Yankee Doodle Dandy starring James Cagney in his Oscar-winning performance. In that otherwise Hollywoodized film, this song was used effectively as an illustration of the creative process. The way the film portrays it, Cohan is watching a military band parade by, and a segment of one of their songs catches his ear, a simple triad that he finds himself whistling. Late at night he is seen slowly working out the complete new song on a piano, note by note. The next scene unveils the song, as Cohan (Cagney) and woman dressed in uniform (Frances Langford) sing it to a large and appreciative audience. The song is reprised at the very end of the film. As Cohan is leaving the White House grounds, a group of soldiers march past the now-aged Cohan, singing the song. Another bystander, also elderly, does a startled take as he finds himself standing next to the author of that song. Cohan (along with other citizens) begins to march alongside and in step with the soldiers. One of them, not knowing who the old man is, teases him into joining the singing. The film irises-out on a closeup of Cohan (Cagney) singing the final line of the song's chorus.

Contents

[edit] Lyrics

As sung by early-20th century recording artist Billy Murray:

Verse 1

Johnny[2], get your gun, get your gun, get your gun
Take it on the run, on the run, on the run
Hear them calling you and me
Every Son of Liberty
Hurry right away, no delay, go today
Make your Daddy glad to have had such a lad
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her boy's in line

Verse 2

Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun
Johnny, show the "Hun"[3] you're a son-of-a-gun
Hoist the flag and let her fly
Yankee Doodle[4] do or die
Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit
Yankee[5] to the ranks from the towns and the tanks[6]
Make your Mother proud of you
And the old red-white-and-blue[7]

Chorus

Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming
The drum's rum-tumming everywhere
So prepare, say a prayer,
Send the word, send the word to beware
We'll be over, we're coming over
And we won't come back till it's over, over there

[edit] Trivia

  • The song is sung by US soldiers in a Chicago prohibition bar in the 2008 movie Leatherheads.
  • "Over There" is featured during the opening sequence in the 1998 war film When Trumpets Fade.
  • Grandpa Simpson sings this song while showering in the second-season Simpsons episode "The War of the Simpsons".
  • The song is used as a melody of the old FC Lyn Oslo main song
  • It is featured in an episode of The Golden Girls, in which Rose reveals it was a lullaby her mother used to sing to her.
  • It is featured as the closing credits song in Boston Legal, episode #4.9 "No Brain Left Behind".
  • It is featured (in a modified form) as the opening song for the Tom and Jerry cartoon "The Yankee Doodle Mouse," first shown in 1943 and which won an Academy Award.
  • Part of the song is also featured in Family Guy in the episode "Saving Private Brian"
  • The song is parodied in the 1969 satirical film "Oh! What a Lovely War" with the American troops arriving in Britain singing "And we won't come back - we'll be buried over there!"
  • Slim Pickens sings part of the song to his captors aboard a submarine in the movie 1941.

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ Duffy, Michael (2 August 2003). "Vintage Audio: Over There". FirstWorldWar.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  2. ^ "Johnny" is a very common English given name and is used to address any anonymous man or men.
  3. ^ Now usually sung as "Johnny on the run...".
  4. ^ Now usually sung as "Like true heroes..."
  5. ^ Now usually sung as "Soldiers..."
  6. ^ Short for "tank town", meaning any town so small its primary purpose was to provide water for steam locomotives.
  7. ^ Now usually sung as "And to liberty be true"
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